350 Park Avenuie
At a time when energy usage and resultant carbon dioxide emissions are our most pressing environmental challenge, energy studies of commercial office buildings offer significant opportunities to generate both energy and financial savings. Both types of savings in this case study are impressive as well as recurring. On top of that, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) operates a New York State program called FlexTech that incentivizes commercial property owners to conduct such studies.
The office building in this case study is 350 Park Avenue, a 571,000-square-foot structure in Manhattan. As part of an ongoing effort to improve building equipment throughout their building portfolio, Vornado Realty Trust worked with Goldman Copeland through FlexTech to discover ways to reduce operating costs and optimize building systems at this location, among others.
In addition to HVAC controls and lighting upgrades, Goldman Copeland arrived at an innovative solution to retrofit one of 350 Park Avenue’s existing steam turbine chillers with a side-mounted electric drive allowing the chiller to operate using steam or electric power alternatively. The re-use of the chiller – instead of the installation of a new one – allowed the existing chilled water system to remain in place. This strategy reduced overall project installation costs and resulted in substantial energy savings. In total, Vornado was able to annually save $580,000 and 18,154,432 kBtu by implementing opportunities discovered and designed by Goldman Copeland, with a 100% return on investment in well under four years.
Those are impressive savings, and FlexTech shares the cost of producing an objective, site-specific, targeted study on how best to implement clean energy and/or energy efficiency technologies. Eligible facilities include commercial, industrial, and multifamily structures in New York State that pay into the electric System Benefits Charge (SBC).
Eligible study areas include the following: energy efficiency technical analyses; investigation of an advanced technology or system; creation of a long-term energy plan; investigation of deep energy savings; investigation of Clean Heating and Cooling Systems including Air Source Heat Pumps, Ground Source Heat Pumps, Variable Refrigerant Flow, and Solar Heating and Cooling; and, investigation of distributed energy resources.
At Goldman Copeland, we have completed energy studies for over 50 million square feet of property to assist customers in making more informed energy decisions at their facilities. Our firm is an approved NYSERDA FlexTech consultant and, in that capacity, handles the entire NYSERDA application process, requiring minimum effort by our clients.
With the recent enactment of New York City’s Climate Mobilization Acts and the resulting carbon cap on all buildings over 25,000 square feet, it’s more vital than ever for property owners to understand their energy usage and potential energy savings. NYSERDA’s FlexTech program and the potential for significant energy and financial savings only add to the incentives.
A link to the full case study is here. More information on the FlexTech program is here.
The author is Principal and Director of Energy Services at Goldman Copeland and can be reached at TSchwartzman@GoldmanCopeland.com.
